Search Engine Optimization, or SEO, is more than just a buzzword created by marketers. It’s a formula that takes your website out of obscurity and places it into high-ranking positions on different search engines. People are more prone to click on the first few entries on a page of results rather than scroll through pages of content searching for your website. That’s why knowing the ins and outs of your industry matters when it comes to making the most use out of SEO. Here are some ways understanding your industry will help you optimize your SEO.

Keyword Research

Researching your industry, including your competitor’s products and your customers’ desires, makes it so you’re able to select the right keywords and phrases based on what people look for most when they complete a search. You’re then able to incorporate that terminology into your website, blog posts, and even social media content. You’ll benefit from organic traffic directed from sites such as Google, Bing, and Yahoo because of your deliberate use of popular SEO keywords for your industry. Once a potential customer discovers your website, you can then implement other business strategies to keep them engaged and get them to buy what you have to offer right away.

Making Good Use of Supply Chain Management

Understanding your industry affects how you handle supply chain management, which affects your SEO and branding. Take time to consider the overall cost of your products and services as well as how the public responds to what you have to offer based on the value it brings to their lives. Determine what products and suppliers are your reliable money-makers, and which ones are less effective. This can help you determine whether to shift to upselling a popular product, lower costs of supply or creation, or focus marketing efforts on a low-selling product. You can also make adjustments on how you discover new suppliers based on SEO results quickly and understand how to appeal to more customers by becoming more discoverable through the keywords and phrases you choose to implement in your online content.

SEO Makes Your Website Discoverable, and Marketing Highlights the Value You Provide

To truly understand your industry, you will need to take the time to research and connect with others within it. Talk to experts, network with other professionals, and read books by industry stars. Consider attending networking associations and tradeshows. As you do, you will be able to learn and see what attributes garner success in your industry and what your most valuable assets are. By understanding what creates value, you will be able to adjust your marketing and SEO efforts to help potential customers discover that value.

When you understand your industry and what drives search results, you’ll be able to use SEO to your advantage. You’ll be strategic with your use and placement of keywords. You’ll have a more precise formula to follow that gets traffic to your website and new customers viewing what you have to offer them in terms of products and services. You’ll then be able to build a relationship with your visitors online and turn them into loyal fans of your brand by solving a pain point in their lives and providing them with value.

Brooke Chaplan is a freelance writer and blogger. She lives and works out of her home in Los Lunas, New Mexico. She loves the outdoors and spends most of her time hiking, biking, and gardening. For more information, contact Brooke via Facebook or Twitter @BrookeChaplan.

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